


The Conwoman and the Child

by Moneil_Wisby



Category: Highlander: The Series, The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:07:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22830703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moneil_Wisby/pseuds/Moneil_Wisby
Summary: Maude Standish never intended to take on the job of raising a pre-immortal. But somehow, here she was.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22





	1. The Bankrobber and the Kid

**Author's Note:**

> This is a very old work, originally published under penname 'mihreia'. It likely won't get any longer than the four chapters I have. But I have to start somewhere.

The little boy looked curiously at the man standing in line behind him and his mother. When the stranger grinned at him and winked, he shyly hid behind his mother's skirts. Ten seconds later two big green eyes under a mop of auburn hair peeked out to stare some more.

Cory Raines laughed in himself and decided to make sure the kid and his mom would be safely outside before he robbed the bank. You never knew what a scared teller would do and though he didn't mind dying himself, he hated seeing others die for him. The farmer at the front of the line had apparently finished his business and was leaving the building. One down, two more to go, before he got to the more exciting part of the day.

Cory had just decided the latest person to deliver hard-earned money that would soon be in his hands was a soldier of some sort, when he felt the ringing in his head that signalled another immortal. He hadn't seen an immortal in seven weeks. Did one have to be here now, of all times and places? Of all the bad luck! Well, as long as the immortal didn't come into the bank, maybe he could still save the situation. It was not to be.

The door to the bank slammed open and three rough looking gunslingers with bandannas in front of their faces stepped in.

"Nobody move! This is a robbery! Everybody put your hands in the air!"

Inwardly Cory rolled his eyes. As if you could get your hands up without moving. Amateurs! The West was full of them. He hadn't seen so many robbers since ambushing travellers in the woods of England went out of style. Outwardly he meekly put his hands in the air, all the while intently searching the faces of the robbers trying to determine which of them was the immortal.

When the leader of the group started moving towards him, instead of helping the others threaten the teller to fill the bags with money, he knew for sure. Ah damn, this was just not his day! Cory said goodbye to his money. Sorry Sister Annette, but you won't get that new roof for the chapel after all.

What happened next was all too predictable for an experienced bankrobber like Cory, but he still couldn't do anything but watch in horrified silence.

With the two henchmen occupied at the teller and the leader turning his back on the other occupants of the room to check on Cory, the soldier saw his chance. He pulled his gun in one swift motion and shot the immortal outlaw in the back. Which of course didn't do anything, but immediately earn him gunfire from two separate directions.

Once, twice in the chest, one hit in the shoulder and one in the side of the head, which swung him around sideways and the next shot missed him entirely. It didn't miss the woman standing next to him. Her head snapped back and she slumped to the floor like a puppet whose strings were cut. From Cory's position he could clearly see the hole in her head just above her right eye.

"Mommy! Mommymommymommy."

The little boy screamed and crawled on top of the dead woman, clearly not understanding what had happened. Cory closed his eyes in sad resignation as he listened to the cries for a mother who would never wake up again.

The leader started getting even more agitated.

"Someone will have heard that! Hurry up with that money, boys. We have to get out of here!"

The teller came out of his stupor and started shoving money into the bags with greater speed than before. The leader paced impatiently, before snapping.

"Shut up, you little brat!"

The immortal grabbed the kid by the arm. Then he got the weirdest expression on his face. He blinked twice, then started grinning crookedly.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Two for the price of one!" He shoved the child at a stunned Cory and pointed the gun at him. "You! You're coming with us."

Cory caught the child before the madman would decide to kill the boy too. A muted tingle running through his head explained the man's words. He looked at the small body tucked into his shoulder and frowned. Cory knew there were immortals who could feel those who had yet to become immortal at a fair distance, but he wasn't one of those. Still, even though he had never felt a pre-immortal before, he couldn't mistake the feeling.

This complicated matters even more.

How the hell was he supposed to save himself and a three-year-old kid from an immortal? And there would be no help from the local law. Cory himself had made sure the sheriff and his deputy were busy at a ranch an hour's ride away.

Funny what life throws at you. Not ten minutes ago he would have been happy that there was no law in town, and now he was hoping the sheriff would recognise his decoy and return as quickly as possible.

Six hours later he had given up on that thought. There had been no pursuit that he could see. He was bound hand and foot, sitting with his back to a tree just outside the firelight with only one guard up and about. The boy was lying asleep in his lap, shutting out reality the only way he could. Cory really wished he could do the same.

Still, if Cory had one thing going for him it was that he was an eternal optimist. And he had already seen that even in this situation there were a couple of points in his favour. The immortal couldn't take their heads until he was far enough away from the town. It was always possible that the people who would start chasing them in the morning might notice the quickenings.

And maybe the immortal didn't want his mortal friends to watch while he took the quickenings, but Cory wouldn't bet on that. Another happy thing was that his hands had been bound in front of him, not behind, because he had to keep the kid quiet and calm. And last but not least, the kid wasn't bound at all.

He could work with that.

It took Cory only fifteen minutes to come up with a plan, and another three hours to convince himself there was no other way, because he wasn't really happy with it. It all depended on a little boy who had just seen his mother die. The robbers hadn't done any more than take away his guns, so he still had the sword on his back and the knife in his boot. Neither of which would make a bit of difference in a gunfight. Still, the knife had helped considerably in getting these damn ropes off of him. And all without waking up the boy. He was rather proud of that fact.

Now for the next part.

"Hey. Kid. Wake up." He whispered, making sure the guard was not looking their way. Green eyes blinked up at him sleepily. Cory smiled, trying to put the child at ease. The boy yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"You awake now?" A nod was all the reply he got. "What's your name?"

"Ezra." The young child said with a bit of a lisp.

Cory grinned.

"Well, Ezra. I'm Cory." He turned the boy a bit. "Do you see that man there?"

The boy glanced at Cory before squinting into the darkness at the man sitting just outside the fire. Then Ezra nodded.

"Is a bad man. He hurt mommy."

Cory had to close his eyes for a second at that. Then he sighed.

"Yes. He did hurt mommy. Now I want you to be very brave. I want you to play hide and seek. Can you play hide and seek?"

The boy nodded again.

"Okay. Walk around the fire until you're behind the bad man. The bad man will see you, and then you run as fast as you can that way." The immortal pointed behind the bad man, cursing himself for even thinking of this plan. "And then you have to hide real good until I come get you. Can you do that?"

The boy frowned in concentration. He looked at the fire, the guard and at the big black space behind the guard.

"Wait until the bad man looks. Run and hide. Mr. Cory? Will he be mad?"

Cory couldn't lie to the boy about that. It was better if Ezra was scared enough to stay hidden during all the commotion that would follow.

"Yes. He'll be mad."

"Good." Ezra stated with a happy little-boy smile.

The child started squirming to get off Cory's lap, clearly eager to start irritating the bad guy. Soon he disappeared into the brush. Cory hadn't prayed in quite a while, but he was really tempted to do so now. He hid his knife on the inside of his wrist, while he pretended his arms and legs were still bound.

A few minutes later the guard shouted out loud and stood up from his perch.

"Hey! Get back here!"

The other two robbers shot awake immediately.

"What is it?" The immortal outlaw asked, clearly irritated.

"That kid has run away." The guard answered, searching the darkness for any sign of the little boy.

The leader looked over at Cory, who grinned widely at him and shrugged.

"It's not my fault! The kid had to go to the privy."

The outlaw scowled at him.

"You two search for the brat, while I teach funny guy here a lesson."

The mortals disappeared with the sound of a lot of rustling leaves. The remaining man stalked towards his captive.

"You are going to be very sorry you said that, before I take your head."

He kicked Cory in the ribs, and the immortal rolled with it. After another couple of kicks in the side and two in the kidneys, the robber finally did what Cory had hoped for. He grabbed Cory by his jacket and pulled him face to face.

"Oh yes, you are going to be ..."

Eyes opened wide, and the rest of the sentence was lost in a gurgling gasp before the dead body collapsed to the ground. The knife was still sticking up between the ribs. Cory grinned. A clean thrust, straight into the heart. Now he had to find the idiot's gun, because he couldn't remove the knife without reviving the dead outlaw.

Two minutes later he went hunting after the other two. The first one wasn't difficult to find. The robber was clearly not an outdoors person, judging by the many curses coming from the left. Cory shot him right through the heart from the back. In his opinion people who kidnapped little children did not deserve any mercy.

The second guy found him, in stead of the other way around. He shot Cory in the shoulder, but that didn't slow the immortal down all that much. It hurt like a bitch, but Cory was on an adrenaline high now and he easily disposed of this robber too.

He was thinking about what to do with the immortal. It wouldn't help him calm Ezra down any if he took a quickening and the boy saw him do it. It was a bit early to teach the kid the ins and outs of immortal life. Besides, a clean death was much too good for the bastard. Taken the head of a three-year-old indeed! Let him rot and get eaten by wolves.

Cory didn't have to search long for Ezra. The little boy turned up from under a fallen tree, happy and smiling.

"Did it work? Was the bad man mad, Mr. Cory?" Ezra lisped.

Cory smiled.

"He was very mad, kid. You did great."

And when he looked down into those sparkling green eyes he wondered what the hell he was going to do with the pre-immortal kid now.

And then he grinned widely.

Maybe it was time to visit an old friend.


	2. The Conwoman and the Child

Maude Sinclair was not a stupid woman. She had not lived for nearly five hundred years by being less than cautious or by ignoring her instincts. So, when she was suddenly gripped by the vague sense that something was wrong, she stopped herself from entering her hotel room and started paying attention. Why would she think something was wrong?

She hadn't felt any immortals, and she hadn't felt anything amiss in the reactions of her latest mark. It couldn't be one of her former marks, because she was in the middle of a six-month con and she hadn't pulled anything in this city before.

Her nose wrinkled as she caught an out of place scent. Wet horse. There was no reason for that particular smell to be here. Maude hadn't ridden a horse in nearly a year. She had gotten somewhat used to riding by train and stagecoach since the things were invented. It was a much more comfortable way of travelling and Maude was all for comfort. She had sat on top of quite enough mangy flea-bitten animals to last her a lifetime.

The immortal conwoman glanced up and down the corridor to see if anyone was around, before pulling her dress up. She took her derringer from where it was strapped to her thigh and gently turned the key in the lock. The small gun felt secure in her hand as she opened the door.

Maude raked her eyes swiftly over the room. No intruders waiting for her arrival, no miscreants behind the door. Nothing seemed out of place. Or wait a second…

Her eyes swept back to the bed and the strange lump in it. It wasn't big enough to hide a person. Nevertheless Maude was certain it hadn't been there when she left the room. If it turned out to be just a case of the maid having been derelict in her duties, the conwoman would teach the silly girl a lesson she wouldn't forget.

One hand gripped the derringer tightly, as the other swept back the blanket. Maude certainly hadn't suspected to see what she did and couldn't stop a surprised outburst.

"Well, I never ..."

On the bed lay a small child. The boy was probably three years old. Maybe four, if he was particularly small for his age. He had auburn hair, and the sweetest face Maude had seen on a child in a long time. Not that she had seen all that many small children in her life. Not up close anyway. Of course, she did manage to marry a rich widower once in a while, but rich meant that there was always a maid to take care of the children. In any case, she had never seen the point in raising the child of another woman. And since she couldn't have children of her own, the odds were against her.

Her eye fell on the large white envelope that the boy held in his right hand.

She took the boy's hand carefully to pry the letter loose, and cocked her head as a low humming ran through her nerves. The boy was pre- immortal. Well now, that at least explained why he was left in her care, even if she couldn't guess who would do such a thing. Of course, there was no reason to start speculating when she hadn't read the letter yet, now was there?

With that thought she turned to the piece of paper.

Hey Maude honey,

I ran into this kid west of here. His mother's dead, and besides, the kid's a pre-immortal. Now, I don't know squat about raising kids, so I left him to you. There's $500 with this letter. Hope you have fun.

Your ever loving,

Cory Raines

Oh yeah. Kid's name's Ezra.

For a few moments Maude couldn't do anything but stare blankly at the scribbles on the page. Then she folded the letter with precise and meticulous hand motions that revealed her cold burning rage.

What was that scoundrel thinking? Oh, of course! Maude is a woman. Naturally she knows how to raise a child. Well, thank you very much Mr Raines. See if she did business with him again in the next decade! No, in the next century!

Maude knew that she should have never have told the man where she was moving next after they pulled that jewelry job together. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. She might have needed to stay in touch with the rogue. Cory was very good at charming people, and for that little caper she had needed a partner. But ooh, the man could be a loose cannon! The proof was lying asleep in her bed. The immortal looked at the sleeping child with trepidation.

How in creation was she going to handle this? She was a business woman! She had no time for a child in her exploits. How in the world was she going to find men foolish enough to take in the child of another man along with her? Not to mention the fact that this was a pre-immortal child!

What was she to do if she was challenged and she lost? Leave him helpless? A child had no way of supporting himself. Or if the boy died of decease? Maude had always heard that sickness was the main cause of child death. Existing in a too young body was no way to live. Was she supposed to behead the poor thing if he died too young? How on earth was she going to do that, if she somehow got attached to him?

No, she had better find someone else to take the child in.

Her mind made up, she turned back to the innocently sleeping boy. And got a jolt of surprise, when she saw big green eyes looking up at her trustingly. Maude sighed. It wasn't really Ezra's fault that Cory was such an inconsiderate lout. And she did owe Rebecca something for taking her in all those years ago. Her teacher would not be pleased if Maude left the child to fend for itself. Of course, Rebecca had stayed on Holy Ground for the entire fifteen years she had spent raising and teaching Maude. But there were considerably fewer holy places in the New World than in the Old. She would have to choose between the Catholics and the Indians.

There was no force on earth that could convince the conwoman to get trapped in a nunnery. And God forbid, she would actually spend more than ten years stuck in a village with those paint-faced savages. She had become quite tired of roughing it in the wild in her earlier years. Civilisation was so much more comfortable and she just wasn't giving it up.

Maude knew that raising a pre-immortal in the real world would be considerably more dangerous, however. Well, she would just have to make up some rules, then. After all, how hard could it be for an experienced conwoman such as herself to raise a child?

Maude turned the charm on and smiled widely at the little boy.

"Hello. My name is Maude. But you may address me as Mother."

The boy scrunched his nose up in confusion. "You're not my mommy."

Maude's smile was a bit more forced this time. "No, darling, I know I'm not your mommy. But from now on I am your mother, nonetheless."

Maude could practically feel the green eyes raking over her, trying to understand what she was saying. The immortal had gotten less intense once-overs from opponents in battle or from lustful men.

Then Ezra smiled, his cheeks dimpling.

"You're pretty." He stated with all the honesty and conviction of a three-year-old.

Maude raised her eyebrows. He was going to be quite the charmer when he grew up. In fact, he already was. She could use this. There were quite a few times when she had needed a diversion, or a partner. Naturally it would take some effort to teach Ezra how to pull off a good conjob and she may have to abandon the one she was working on now, but she just had to look at those sparkling green eyes and wide smile to know it would be worth it. And if she ever lost a challenge the child wouldn't be completely without resources. One had to be old enough to work, but deceiving people would only be easier for the young. All children were natural con-artists working their magic on their parents.

While she calculated the long-term effects in her mind, Maude pulled the little boy out of bed and put him in front of her. Deft hands straightened out the wrinkles in his clothes. The conwoman pulled her nose up at the smell of wet horse.

First things first. Ezra had to be fitted with the proper wardrobe. After all, appearances are everything.

Maude smiled at the little boy, as she picked him up and left her room.

"Come along, Ezra dear. We have much to do."


	3. The Child and the Cardgame

Ezra thumped his feet against the couch impatiently. Mother was talking with her newest mark. She had told Ezra to be nice and quiet, while she talked to the visiting gentleman. The boy rolled his eyes in exasperation. He knew what that meant. Mother was getting ready to begin a new round in her everlasting game.

He may be only six years old, but he wasn't stupid. And he didn't like this new person. The man had mean dark eyes. But Ezra trusted Mother to be smart enough to see that, so he wasn't worried. Mr. Codsworth and Mother could have their fun, and Ezra would have his. As soon as they were busy doing things without him, he was going to go exploring.

Mother and he had just arrived in a brand new town, and the young boy couldn't wait to go look see. Ezra had never been so far out west before, but he had heard all sorts of great stories about cowboys and bad guys and sheriffs and gunmen and a whole lot more. The ride into town on the stagecoach had been an adventure in itself. He hadn't seen any Indians though, Ezra thought glumly. Still, the small town looked so strange to the city boy, that he just had to see it upclose. And who knew when Mother would see fit to take him outside. This hotel just wasn't big enough to keep him occupied like most others they had stayed in.

Ezra knew Mother didn't like it, when he took off alone, but that was just too bad. She obviously didn't care when he didn't like something she did. Why should he always be the one to give in? It wasn't fair and he wasn't going to stay indoors all day when there was a whole different world outside the window.

"Ezra dear? Mr. Codsworth has been so courteous as to invite me to a ride in the country. I'm afraid it will be rather strenuous for a child as young as yourself. Will you be alright here alone?"

Ezra had to keep himself from jumping off the couch in joy at this unexpected chance. He'd been afraid he would have to come up with a way to escape.

"Yes, of course, Mother."

She nodded crisply. "Good. I will expect to see you at dinner then."

And with that she allowed Mr. Codsworth to escort her out of the room.

Ezra waited a whole ten minutes, anxiously staring out the window for any sign of Mother returning, but he finally decided it was safe. Jumping off the chair he ran for the door.

The boy had no trouble exiting the hotel. Wandering around, he took in the town and the people with big green eyes. The town was rather small in comparison to the cities he had seen, but it was all exciting and new. The people here dressed differently, he noticed. The men wore mostly brown, and the kind of clothes they wore were also strange. Ezra glanced down at the bright red jacket Mother had put on him for the meeting with Mr. Codsworth. Well, he liked red much better anyway.

Nobody really bothered Ezra as he walked around and he spent a good hour following all kinds of different and interesting people. One of those was a man with overly large jiggling spurs on his boots. Ezra was curious to see if the man didn't get stuck pinned to the wooden boards. For some strange reason he didn't.

When the boy looked up again he noticed he had entered some kind of drinking establishment, as Mother called it. He was ready to walk back out, when three men around a table caught his attention. Those people were playing cards. Ezra excitedly walked towards them. It had been a long time since he had played cards. All the way two of Mother's marks ago. She often let him play against rich friends of her marks to show how good he was. They usually laughed and praised his skills, when he won the game, since Ezra was really good. The card-playing people weren't usually this loud though. Still, a game was a game.

Ezra watched them intently, trying to see which game it was, and how good the men were at playing it. The boy stood on his toes to see the cards on the table being played. Huh. Poker. Not one of the most difficult games he knew.

Playing poker was easy. Mother had told him to always smile even if he had a bad hand. The game was really to try and find the little habits in the other player that showed if they had good or bad cards. It was a new way of playing hide and seek really. Only you had to find something hidden on someone instead of a whole person. Ezra's eyes shifted attentively between the players trying to find any repeating patterns.

The man with the beard twitched his eye when he had a good hand. The blond man fingered his bandanna, when he was bluffing. And the last guy didn't seem to know how to play poker at all. He always betted on everything. Ezra had to stop himself from telling the man how he could do better. Mother had taught him never to give up an advantage, because the other person certainly wouldn't, and you never know when you might need to do one better.

So Ezra just memorised all the little signs in the poker game, and nodded happily to himself. He could do this. He spoke up.

"Can I play?"

Three pairs of eyes turned to him. They didn't look very friendly, but Ezra ignored that.

"This isn't a kid's game, boy. Beat it!" The blond man said.

Ezra grappled in the pocket of his jacket. Mother never left him without money. Ezra normally used it to buy dinner, when she failed to return at night. But she had said she expected him at dinner, so she would be there today. He hoped.

"I've got money. See? And I know how to play poker."

The bad player shrugged. "Let him. Maybe I'll even win something for a change."

Ezra eagerly climbed on a chair and sat on his knees, so he could see the table better. The next couple of hours he spent playing cards. He kept smiling, and he made sure not to bounce. Mother said he bounced when he got excited, and that was not good in a poker game. So he was determined not to bounce when he had a good hand.

All in all, he won a fair bit of money. He wasn't exactly sure how much. Mother had taught him counting, but multiplication above ten was still a bit too difficult without paper. The stakes were smaller than usual, but he had played a lot longer, so there were a lot more bills on the table.

Suddenly panicked Ezra threw a glance at the window. It was getting dark outside. Mother would kill him if he were late for dinner. The boy put down his cards and grinned at his opponents.

"Well, gentlemen, I win."

He expected them to laugh and say he could play pretty well for a kid. For some reason these men didn't do that. They looked angry. Ezra blinked, slightly confused.

"We don't like being cheated, do we, boys?" The twitch-eyed man said.

Ezra slowly pulled his legs out from under him, because he suddenly wondered if he would have to run for it. This was not good. And what to do about the money that was fairly his? He didn't cheat!

"I did not cheat, sir!" Ezra said angrily. He started to pick up his money from the table in a burst of activity.

A large hand came down on top of his. The boy's eyes shot up to the blonde.

"Leave that and you might get out of this!"

Ezra tried to pull his hand away, but the man was much too strong. "Let go! That's mine. I won it and I didn't cheat!" He shouted angrily. The boy was too angry to be scared right now. He just knew he was not leaving without that money.

"Why you cheating little devil!"

Twitch-eye raised his hand to hit Ezra, but the green eyes just flashed at him defiantly, daring him to do it. The hand never hit its target.

A loud booming voice came from behind Ezra.

"What kind of man hits a child?"

The child in question looked from the hand that had suddenly appeared around the wrist of the twitch-eyed man up towards the man standing behind him. He had to look up and further up. Ezra didn't think he'd every seen a person so big. Or so angry.

"The boy cheated us out of all our money." The blonde man stated, with a lot more caution than before.

The big man looked down into Ezra's upturned face. "Did you cheat?"

The boy was about to become angry again at the accusation, but he noticed the man's eyes seemed very friendly. The anger drained away, leaving him feeling a bit light-headed.

"No, sir, I just play better." He smiled widely at his new friend.

The big man returned the smile with a big grin, then turned it at Ezra's opponents.

"If the boy says he didn't cheat, then he didn't cheat." The grin faded a bit. "Now I suggest you folks get on out of here, and don't underestimate the person you're playing with next time."

The three men slunk away chagrined, apparently not willing to take on someone that large. Ezra went back to the task of gathering his money and putting it away. Once he had done that he turned to his rescuer and offered his hand.

The big man grinned amusedly as he shook hands with the child. Ezra's small hand almost disappeared in his own.

"Thank you for your assistance, sir." The green-eyed boy said the memorised and often used sentence very seriously, before smiling widely. "They were scared of you, weren't they?"

"They sure were. Glad I could help. A bit of advice though, son. The next game you play? Try not to take all their money." The big man tipped his head, and moved towards the bar.

Leaving his rescuer to get a drink, Ezra happily left the saloon to get ready for dinner with Mother. All in all, it had been a very good afternoon. Playing cards was always fun, and he had won a fair bit of money as well. He didn't really see why the men had been angry that he played better, but he made sure to remember his rescuer's advice for next time.

Josiah smiled as he saw the pre-immortal little boy in the red jacket leave the saloon. He wondered what would become of him. The child would need a teacher eventually, once he became immortal. While the ex-preacher had watched in amusement as the boy cleaned out his unfortunate opponents, he had briefly considered taking him in. But the boy was too well-dressed to be an orphan, and growing up with a loving family in happy ignorance was better than the life Josiah could give him.

Besides, Josiah had the nagging feeling that he hadn't seen the last of that boy.


	4. The Conwoman and the Challenger

Maude hastened her pace, dragging Ezra along with her. Her eyes searched the street, looking for the immortal she could feel. This was the third time in two days she had felt him. It was now a certainty that she was being stalked.

It had been a while since she had fought an immortal. Lately she used any means necessary to avoid a battle of swords. Partly because the latest women's dress-sense was not conducive to extensive movement. But mostly because she didn't want to leave Ezra unprotected and alone. Still, she had killed two immortals in the five years she had spent with the child so far. Both had been accidental encounters.

Unfortunately it didn't seem likely that this immortal was going to disappear any time soon. An immortal that would rather stalk an opponent than challenge him or her openly was never a good sign. It suggested a lack of fair play. There was no guarantee that the challenger would obey the rules of the Game, if he didn't stick to convention in the first place.

Not that the conwoman was all that strict on observing the rules herself. She had noticed early on, that it was always wise to keep an advantage. It was a rule she had since applied in numerous different situations. But for immortal combat it meant that nowadays she carried a gun, the same way she used to carry several throwing knives on her person in the time before guns had become small enough to easily conceal.

The high-pitched humming in her nerves ebbed away. Apparently the hunter was not yet ready to take her on. That was too bad for him, but Maude had absolutely no intention of waiting until the man was ready. She had begun making preparations to leave town yesterday, but had delayed the actual leaving until she knew for sure that the two brushes had not been a coincidence.

And with this latest near miss she had given up on wishful thinking.

Immediately upon arrival at the hotel, she set events in motion to get her and Ezra out of town as soon as possible. First things first.

"Ezra, go to our room and get the suitcases. We will be leaving within the hour."

Ezra looked as if he wanted to say something, but Maude was not in the mood for dallying and apparently he could read that in her face. He changed the words at the last second.

"Yes, Mother."

Maude nodded briskly and set out to obtain the carriage she had hired. The plan was to ride to the train station and buy three separate sets of tickets. Let's leave the malignant bastard guessing as to where they were going.

The immortal woman spent quite some time instructing the stable- hands, since she was certainly not riding to the train station in the dirt-filled, flea-ridden carriage they presented to her. It was anyone's guess what ignorant peasant had ridden it last, but it certainly wouldn't do for a woman of her class.

Therefore it took her over thirty minutes to start questioning Ezra's absence. The boy wasn't usually that slow. Maude and Ezra had left other places in a hurry over the years, when some unfortunate fool had felt slighted by her machinations. Maude abhorred leaving her winnings behind in such instances and she had been delighted to note that Ezra was becoming quite good at sneaking in and out of their hotel-rooms without being seen. Only the fact that Maude felt thievery was below their standards kept her from using the boy's God- given talents for that particular purpose.

In any case Ezra should have been back by now. Suddenly cold fear gripped her. What if the boy had run into the miscreant responsible for their hasty departure? Maude briskly told the stable-hands to finish their preparations and hurried towards their room.

Once inside her fears were confirmed. Her suitcase lay open on the bed, and there was no sign of Ezra in the immediate vicinity. What was there, was an ominous looking note.

Maude told herself firmly that there was no sense in hesitating to read it. If the worst had happened as seemed to be the case here, she would rather be prepared for it.

Maude Simpson,

Run, and I'll kill the boy. Meet me five alleys behind the hotel.

No signature. She still didn't know who she was dealing with. Maude briefly considered her chances. They weren't very good. She had never dealt with a hostage situation before, but it was bound to distract her from the fight.

And there was another problem. There was no guarantee that Ezra was even still alive. After all, he was pre-immortal and therefore a prize on his own. She gambled that the hunter would rather have two heads than one, but she couldn't be sure. Still, if there was even the slightest chance that Ezra was still amongst the living, she had to meet this challenger head on. And at least she had more time to prepare now.

Maude grabbed into her suitcase and started changing into something a bit more battle-worthy. Let's see, she still had that set of stableboy's clothing somewhere from that time she had snared that rich Mr. Kinsley who loved his twenty horses so much.

Fifteen minutes later she was standing in the alley mentioned in the note.

And so was her challenger. Maude assessed him quickly. He had a foot in height on her, but his build was rather slender. Most male immortals were stronger than she was, and this one would not be an exception. The problem arose from the fact that she usually relied on her speed, but judging from his build this man was also fast.

While part of her was calculating odds and not getting very positive results, Maude's swiftly darting eyes sought for any sign of Ezra. There was none.

"The boy's in the cellar of the building on your right." The man grinned. "He was supposed to be just insurance. I didn't count on him being pre-immortal though. I bet he'll make a nice second course."

The conwoman knew the other immortal was trying to goad her into making a mistake in anger. She had pulled off much better cons in her day, so she was certainly not going to fall for this pathetic attempt. Ezra was either dead or alive, there was nothing she could do about that right now, and it would only distract her.

"Do I get a name to go with this challenge, sir?" She asked coolly, with a perfect poker face.

The man raised an eyebrow. "You're one cold bitch, aren't you? It's Anthony Tremain."

And with that he attacked.

It didn't take more than five minutes to tell Maude she had been right in her assessment. Anthony was as fast as she was and he had a longer reach and stronger arms. This battle was going to be very difficult to win if she played by the rules. But why should she? The man had no right to drag Ezra into this.

They locked swords again, and she kicked out with one leg. He stumbled backward and she followed through with a slash to the neck. Anthony shifted sideways and her sword sliced into his left shoulder. Unfortunately that was not his sword arm, but it would still hinder him.

But instead of protecting his wounded side as she expected, the immortal charged her and this time it was Maude who had to move backwards rapidly. Luck was not on her side today, as she stepped into a bit of uneven road and twisted her left ankle. She lost her balance and fell.

Anthony's sword hit hers and they both watched her blade spin away, the sun glinting off the metal. Then the immortal turned back to her, an evil grin crossing his face as he put his sword to Maude's neck.

"Don't worry. Your brat will join you soon enough." He taunted.

Anthony raised his sword for the final swing…

And dropped it as he looked with wide eyes down on the woman who had just shot him through the heart with the derringer she had hidden in the shirt she was wearing.

Maude narrowed her eyes at him in contempt.

"You shouldn't have touched my son!"

The immortal fell down like a log.

The conwoman didn't dawdle. She quickly fetched her sword and beheaded the miscreant before he had the chance to revive. The quickening was short but intense. Apparently Anthony Tremain hadn't been all that old, but he had taken a lot of heads.

Afterwards Maude pulled the body out of immediate sight. It didn't matter to her if the law found him. She would be long gone by nightfall.

That done, she finally came to the task she dreaded most. She had to find Ezra. Judging from what the bastard had said to her, the odds were good that he was still alive. But it was that small chance that he had lied that made her afraid of what she would find. After all, Ezra's abduction had no purpose but to get Maude to fight. There was no good reason to keep him alive until after she died.

With a heavy heart Maude entered the basement.

"Ezra?" She called.

A clanging sound caught her attention, and she rushed towards the corner it originated from. She laughed in relief as she found Ezra sitting alive and well behind some boxes. His hands were bound together with shackles and he had a cloth in his mouth.

"Well, I see I'll have to teach you how to get out of these." She smiled with tears in her eyes as she knelt to release him. As soon as he was free, Ezra burrowed into her arms, crying. Maude comforted him with soft shushing sounds for the first time since Cory had left him in her care, as he babbled incoherently about what had happened.

Finally Ezra pulled back and stared at her with teary green eyes and a bewildered look on his face.

"Mother, what are you wearing?"

Later that night Maude stared out the train window. Ezra was peacefully asleep leaning against her, apparently unwilling to let go just yet. The immortal's thoughts were troubled as she watched the landscape pass her by swiftly.

She had always known there was a certain risk to raising a pre- immortal, but the point had never been driven home before. The fact that she travelled from city to city greatly increased the chances that she would meet other challengers, other hunters who wouldn't hesitate to use Ezra against her. She couldn't allow a repeat of the recent events until the boy was old enough to be able to defend himself properly. There was only one choice really.

"Ezra, dear. I think it's time you visited your Aunt Esther." She stated softly to herself.

She would tell him in the morning.


End file.
